After flipping through my screens this evening I noticed a few games I love are by indie developers, usually an individual. Many haven't been updated in a while, sometimes a really long time. I was thinking we could start a thread here to mention games like that and maybe motivate the developer to update it, or at least find good games that haven't gotten attention in a year or two. I'll go first: Tris - this one was pulled from the App store for being too similar to Tetris, but I still play it and wish it had an update. I wonder if something could be done to not infringe on the trademark. Cube Runner - a simple game, it's a blast to try to beat my friends's times. Game center integration would be awesome. Which games do you love but seem abandoned?
Hoppy. Used to be the most underrated casual game in the store until it got pulled for unknown reasons. PapiJump. That thing got mass-raped by clones.
Primrose, by the same developer as Passage. It hasn't been updated in over a year, and I'm pretty sure a glitch that kept scores from going above a certain amount (8,000?) is still present, but it was pretty awesome.
Revenge of the Mad John. It was a great side scrolling beat'em up with a you and all the enemies being digitized sprites (Like the Mortal Kombat series) rather than hand drawn sprites. It was pulled due to poor sales. As for Tris (one of my favorite iOS games), it wasn't pulled for infringing as many games use "tris" in their name and you can't copyright game mechanics. There are plenty of Tetris-likes on the appstore as well. He took it down voluntarily as to avoid going to court. The dev was a college student who couldn't risk it. He (or another dev) could re upload the file and it should be fine.
That game definitely looks interesting, I'm going to check it out. Sounds awesome, maybe he'll see this thread...
The game is free for mac, you can find it by googling "primrose game". Also it seems the dev has a version of primrose coming out for the DSi... maybe we'll see something after all? Doubtful but if another dev used that code (it's should be open source) for the basis of a fast loading and simple tetris cone I'd be all over it!
Eliss: A really entertaining frantic puzzle game, it came out in the early, early days of the app store when games were scarce. It is truly a forgotten gem. Today I Die Again: Literally, only about 50 people in the world know about this game, including the developers. It's a short, poetic, inspirational art piece that is done in a special touch-screen presentation. Good stuff. Enviro-Bear 2010: A cult classic with TouchArcade, this underrated game involves ridiculous gameplay where you are a one-armed bear driving an orange car while collecting food to hibernate. Beat It!: Just about the only rhythm game that takes skill, it comes with retro-style crazy visuals and a fun beat-maker to show off your music skills. Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor- TouchArcade's Game of the Year 2009, it is still a classic among those who have had devices in the "Golden Ages" of 2008-2009, a story unraveled in a really neat way where you play a lone spider investigating the rooms of an abandoned house. Some more I don't have time to explain, but are just as good: Canabalt - Jet Car Stunts - Zen Bound - Rolando